Inside CEE Television
- chrisdz3
- 19 hours ago
- 5 min read
Chris Dziadul, February 5 2026
Czechs remain avid TV viewers
In 2025 an average of 5.4 million Czechs aged 15+ turned on their TV every day. This, according to Atmedia, represented two-thirds (66%) of all TV viewers in this category. Moreover, 84% of viewers, or almost 7 million people, watched TV at least once a week. The average time spent watching TV last year was 3 hours and 30 minutes a day. This compared to 3 hours 44 minutes in Slovakia, 4 hours 31 minutes in Poland and 5 hours and 8 minutes in Hungary, and was significantly more that in Western and Northern European countries. Atmedia notes that this year TV viewing in the Czech Republic could grow, thanks to the introduction of a new single TV currency from the beginning of February. In addition to live and delayed viewing (up to three days), this now also includes viewing outside the home on large screens – for example in restaurants, bars or at public screenings.The market expects an increase in total viewing by approximately 6 to 10%, depending on the target group.
Kyivstar secures more investors
Ukraine’s Kyivstar Group has closed a secondary public offering of 14,375,000 common shares at a public price of $10.50 a share. The offering, which was over-subscribed by five times, closed on February 2 and included Kyivstar shares held by Veon Amsterdam B.V., the principal shareholder of the company, and 400,000 common shares held by certain other selling shareholders. Following the offering, Veon’s ownership of Kyivstar Group now stands at 83.6%. Veon has received proceeds of $139.8 million, net of fees, which it plans to use for general corporate purposes.
New channels for Oneplay
The Czech premium streaming service Oneplay has added four new channels from AMC Networks to its line-up. Sport1 and Sport2 will offer viewers more live broadcasts from the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Conference League, as well as Italian Serie A, Serie B, Coppa Italia, European club hockey including the Champions League and other international sports. At the same time, the AMC and Film+ channels focus on foreign series and feature films across genres, especially crime, drama and thrillers. Oneplay has also added Spektrum Home to its Komfort package and removed AXN Black and AXN White from its offer. Inside CEE Television notes that Oneplay was formed by the merger of Voyo and O2 TV last year.
TVP targets Moldovan audiences
The Polish public broadcaster TVP has launched a Romanian language news service named Vot.Tak Moldova. It is the next stage in the development of the Russian language service Vot.Tak, which is aimed at Russian speakers in Moldova, and will operate independently of it. TVP says Vot Tak is more than just a news service as it aims to, amongst other things, “expose Russian disinformation” and “combat Russian narratives in politics.”
Legal blow for Sony in Russia
A Russian arbitration court has dismissed an appeal by Sony Pictures’ former representative in the country. As a result, according to a local report, it will have to pay the Cinema Park chain a total of R782 million (€8.63 million) in damages. Inside CEE Television notes that the legal proceedings against the Hollywood Studio were prompted by its refusal to allow the distribution of 15 Sony Pictures releases in 2022.
Polsat takes over music channels, inks Eutelsat deal
Poland’s Polsat Plus Group has become the sole owner of 4fun, the operator of the music channels 4fun.tv, 4fun Dance and 4fun Kids. The acquisition of the remaining shares in 4fun – Polsat acquired a majority stake in 2023 – was made through Cyprus-based Polsat Investments and for an undisclosed fee. Mateusz Górecki will remain 4fun’s CEO and Katarzyna Koniecka has been appointed to its management board. At the same time, Zygmunt Solorz has been dismissed from its supervisory board and Janusz Pliszka, who previously served on the company’s management board, appointed to the supervisory board. In a separate development, Polsat Plus Group has signed a new multi‑year, multi‑transponder contract at Eutelsat’s flagship Hotbird video neighbourhood at 13 degrees East. Polsat and Eutelsat have worked together since 1992.
End of the line for Czech OK TV
The Czech Radio and Television Council (RRTV) has officially confirmed the termination of two licences, one terrestrial and one by special transmission systems, held by the broadcaster OK TV. OK TV was launched in May 2024 as an FTA national commercial station that focused mostly on music, lifestyle and entertainment programming. It went off the air for technical reasons in November 2025 and suspended transmissions the following month.
Changes on the horizon at Serbia’s RTS
The board of directors at the Serbian public broadcaster RTS have appointed Dragan Bujošević as its acting DG. Bujošević’s second term as the DG expired on February 3 and the board will decide on the new DG by March 12 at the latest. A total of six candidates have applied for the post.
Piracy clampdown in Bulgaria
Three websites allegedly operating from Bulgaria and offering thousands of copyrighted movies, TV shows and other content without authorisation have been taken down by US law enforcement and its Bulgarian counterpart. The sites in question were zamunda.net, arenabg.com and zelka.org and were among the most popular in Bulgaria, with one often ranked in the top 10 most visited domains. The retail value of illegal downloads from the sites ran into millions of dollars.
Băloi returns to Telekom Romania
Alex Băloi has been appointed the director of Vodafone Romania’s business division. Băloi was responsible for the SME segment at the company between 2019-2022 and after leaving was most recently the general manager at M247 Global. Băloi succeeds Dinu Dragomir, who will now oversee the integration of Vodafone and Telekom Romania Mobile Communications.
EBU calls for strong PSB safeguards in Poland
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has submitted its response to Poland’s public consultation on the implementation of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA). In it, the EBU raised concerns about proposals to freeze public media funding at PLN2.5 billion (€593 million) for the next ten years. It also highlighted the need for digital innovation and despite acknowledging the need for transparency and accountability cautioned against overly detailed reporting obligations or mandatory consultations on day-to-day operations. In addition, the EBU welcomed proposed reforms aimed at strengthening the independence of Poland’s media regulator, the National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT) and supported the need for open and transparent recruitment procedures.